Hat



J. cAvANAGH May 19, 1931.

HAT

Filed July 26, 1929 IN VENTOR. Jan @a2/a huy BY A TTORNE YS.

Patented May 19, 1931 JOHN CAVANAGH, OF SOUTH NORWALK, CONNECTICUT, ASSIG-NOR TO THE CROFUT &

KNAPP COMPANY, NECTICUT OF SOUTH NORWALK, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CON- HAT I Application filed July 26,

The present invention is an improvement on my previous hat Patent No. 1,053,973, dated February 25, 1913, and is designed to produce a more desirable hat in that the reinforced welted felt edge is superior to that described in the said patent, because the brim will hold in place much longer than' a welt edge made in accordance with the disclosure of that patent and all other hat brims with which I am familiar.

The object of my invention is to provide a relatively light weight hat with an improved form of reinforced edge produced by an improved process that includes the application of an additional piece or pieces of felt applied in a certain specific manner'.

Vith these and other objects` inview, the

invention resides and consists in the construction and novel combination and ar rangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes ,in the form, proportion, size, and minor details of construction within the scope of the claims may be resorted to without departure from the spirit, or sacrificing anyof'the advantages of the invention.

' Similar characters of reference denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and upon which y p l Fig. 1 is a perspective elevational view of a hat body which has been partially shrunk to illustrate the method of applying a specific form of felt strip in the edge of the brim portion;

Fig. 2 is a vertical 'sectional View as taken on line 2 of Fig. 1 showing the inserted strip and folded edge;

Fig. 3 is a similar sectional view showing a modified reinforced roll edge 'with strip inclosed;

Fig. 4 shows a further like section illustrating a different application of a specially 192s. `serial No. 381,325.

formed strip in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 5 shows a vertical sectional View through a finished hat brim with reinforced edge constructed in accordance with my invention; and l Fig. 6 shows perspective View of a soft style 'of trimmed hat having a. reinforced edge portion formed in accordance with the -disclosure of my invention. l

Hats of this kind are usually made of fur and according to present day methods are formed into a hatbody vina fur forming machine wherein given quantities of fur are blown on a perforatedwmetal cone to which it adheres by reason of a suction of air therethrough, to the extent that a conical shaped fur'hat body is formed of substantially uniform4 thickness. The hat bodies are then saturated with hot water which causes the fibres of the fur to adhere and shrink suflicient so that the body may be removed from the .cone, whereupon a numberv of the bodies are laid, one upon the other, forming a bundle which is folded, dipped into scalding water, taken Vout androlledfor the purpose of further shrinking the bodies. This process is known as siing or felting and by continuing the operations as suggested, serves to reduce the body tothe desired sizes for stiening, blocking and finishing. 1n the course of this sizing operation the short fibres of fur while more or less disposed 4in .a crisscross manner, yet are mostly 4disposed in the body in a given direction, especially throughout its brim portion.

In the drawings, 10 represents a felted hat body which` has been partly sized, 1 1 the brim portion and 12 therolled annular edge. 13 indicates a narrow strip of felt which is applied in the brim portion 4of the body and.

as shown is inclosed by the edge-portion of the brim which is turnedover on the strip and upon the brim 4in a way toinclose the strip. This turned over edge portion is seWed down with acoar'se line of stitches 14 to temporarily hold `it in place during the further sizing operations of the hat body. The edge may obviously be turned over as shown'in Figs. 1 and 2 .and in case a heavier edge of the brim is desired, the stockmay be rolled as shown in Fig. 3 thus providing an increased thickness of material. In Fig. 4

the edge is' shown to be reinforced by a slightly Wider strip that is U-shaped in cross section and is applied like a binding. Each of these forms of reinforcing strip would emply the temporary stitching above suggeste The invention resides more particularly in providing a reinforcing strip of felt Whose grain is disposed at a right angle or substantially so, to that of the body of the hat so that further felting operations of the body will felt the strip into the body in a cross- Wise manner, the purpose being`to obtain greater strength in the edge of brim. The .principle involved being like that employed 1n the use of several thicknesses of wood veneer except that in this case, the felting operation is employed to bind the layers of material together. 4These cross grained strips or strands of felt may be impregnated with insoluble shellac or any insoluble Stifte-ning or treated with various chemicals so as to toughen them. By combining physical strength asin crossvvise grained felt and adding to it a stifening such as shellac or leatherized strip, Which is then felted into the folded edge, a very tough edge may be obtained which will not differ in appearance materially from the ordinary Welted felt edge, yet has the advantage of holding the brim longer than heretofore.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: Y

1. A felt hat brim having a reinforced edge portion, .said reinforcing comprising a -layer of felt felted into and crosswise of the grain of the hat brim.

2. `A felt hat'brim having a reinforced edge portion including an applied stri of felt or any potential felting material W ose grain `is disposed at approximately right angles to that ofthe brim, the said thicknesses being felted to ether.

Signed at South orwalk, in the county of Fairfeldand State of Connecticut, this 22nd day of July, A. D. 1929.

, JOHN CAVANAGH. 

